City apologizes after schools order students to take TCM herbal soup

Lincang education authority in Southwest China's Yunnan Province on Monday told local schools to immediately stop asking students and faculty members to take traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) soup as a requirement for returning to school amid the novel coronavirus outbreak, after receiving complaints that students had been forced to post photos and videos as proof of drinking the medicine.

According to a notice on the 2020 spring semester issued by Lincang's commend center for tackling the novel coronavirus epidemic, local schools and education departments were asked to encourage students and faculty members to take the medicine, which had been prescribed by TCM experts. However, some schools then demanded that students post photos and videos of themselves purchasing and taking the medicine, which was inconsistent with the command center's requirements, the Lincang education authority said in a statement published on its website on Monday.

The Lincang education authority apologized for the inconvenience caused to students and the negative impact on society.

The city has asked schools to stick to encouraging students to take the soup voluntarily, and not ask students to take the soup as a requirement for returning to school for the spring semester, according to the statement.

According to photos circulated online, a kindergarten in Lincang asked parents to upload photos of their children taking the soup and write down whether the children had any side effects such as diarrhea or dizziness, which enraged some parents.